Stealing Sunlight
by Like A Bird 220
Summary: When fourteen year old Ava is attacked the only option left is to become a vampire herself. When she is bitten by Carlisle Cullen, a vampire who chooses not live off the blood of humans, but of animals, she begins to show signs of having unique powers.
1. Bitten 1939

A young girl stood outside a large building holding her sides together and breathing heavily. The girl was dressed in a dark blue bell tutu, with matching dark blue pointe shoes. She couldn't have been older than fourteen; she had a thin frame, and was no taller than five foot one. She had long curly auburn hair that was, at the time, tied into a bun at the top of her head. She had pale white skin, and large dark blue eyes with rather long eyelashes. And she was crying. "I can't do this, I can't do this." She mumbled over and over to herself leaning against the red brick wall for support, eyeliner running down her cheeks. The wind blew a mess of litter towards her direction in the ally. There hadn't been any need for street cleaners during the Great Depression since the city hardly had any money to pay them. A pamphlet stopped at the young girl's feet, it read THE NUTCRACKER: FIRST NIGHT OPENING STARING THE BEAU BALLET DANCE SCHOOL BALLERINAS. Her stomach lurched. She looked at the cast list and found her name Ava Mercier typed neatly and plainly. Ava wanted to throw up. The door to powder rooms opened and one of Ava's fellow ballerinas stepped out. Hattie looked at Ava with brown disapproving eyes and said, "Bernard wants all the ballerinas to be inside the powder rooms getting ready, just because you are the star of the night doesn't mean you have any exception." Ava didn't reply, she stared and Hattie rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut.

Just as Ava was about to go in the Powder Room she heard to voices appear as if out of nowhere. Ava took refuge behind to large trash cans and listened.

"This is your test tonight, Emmett," the first voice said.

"I don't know, Carlisle, it just seems too hard," The other voice, Emmett's, replied in a deep husky voice.

"It will be, but if you can do this there will be no more need to keep you in the house while we go out, you could be with Rosalie wherever she goes," Carlisle's voice tempted.

Emmett didn't reply immediately, he was thinking.

"But what if I can't, what if I fail miserably and. . ." he stopped suddenly, "is there somebody here?"

Ava held her breath. Oh God, she thought, they know I'm here.

"Hello," Carlisle called, "Could however is out here come out?"

Ava didn't, she pressed herself against the wall, and held her breath.

"Let's go," Carlisle murmured, "I don't think it's safe to be back here, something might slip."

Ava heard footsteps, and sighed with relief, they were gone.

The powder room doors flew open again.

"AVA!" It was a man this time, "It is 7:25, five minutes until curtain and I can't find my star performer!"

"Sorry, Bernard," Ava mumbled picking herself up from the ground.

"Oh, look at you sitting on the garbage ally floor, getting your tutu dirty," He hissed, "we paid good money to come here and you decide to get dirty!"

Ava sighed and plopped in an armchair in the powder room.

"Nope, no time for rest and relaxation, missy, you have the opening act, which means you need to out there and ready to go when the time is right! None of this lazy star stuff." Bernard pulled her by the upper-arm to the stage area.

"Sorry, Bernard," Ava said robotically. They stopped at the beginning of stage. Ava was first in line.

"Alright, ladies, and gentleman," Bernard added nodding towards a boy with a large nutcracker mask upon his head, "tonight is opening night, I expect everyone to be perfect we have been practicing for months! Let's leave the audience dazzled!"

"So, do you think Bernard is going to hyperventilating the entire time?" a voice asked behind Ava, it was Annie Ava's only friend.

"Well, if he isn't, I know I will be," Ava whispered back, both girls giggled.

"What is so FUNNY?" shrieked Bernard his beret falling slightly.

"Nothing, sorry" Ava mumbled looking to the ground trying to stifle another laugh, behind her Annie was trying to do the same.

"Okay, ladies, and gentleman, it is 7:30, time to open!" The curtain pulled back and Ava was introduced the sea of people waiting for her to perform, Ava stopped breathing.

"You'll do fine," Annie's voice came from behind Ava, "You are our best performer, you've only started seven years ago, yet you are the best ballerina we have, I have faith in you."

The music started opening to a Christmas party, and Ava graced the stage.

"Oh, thank the Lord above that's done," Annie said throwing her overcoat on.

All the girls in the room were changing into regular clothes preparing to head back to their school.

"I hear you there," Ava agreed, running a brush with her messy curly hair, and then retying it into a bun

"I'm going to go now, see at the dorm," Annie left through the powder room door.

"Bye," Ava said, putting a brown shoe on her foot.

Ava left the theatre a few minutes later, saying farewell to some of her fellow ballerinas. The temperature outside had dropped several degrees and Ava tightened her overcoat around her. She walked a little ways to a bus stop waiting for the late night bus to pick her up and take her home. Ava didn't understand why Bernard didn't find a safer way to travel back to the school. The night busses were dangerous and it wasn't safe for a young girl to be travelling by herself. Just as Ava was thinking about this she noticed a young man standing near her that she hadn't noticed before, apparently waiting for the bus too, had he been there the whole time? He gave off a creepy aura and something deep down told Ava that she should walk away and find another bus stop. He wore a black trench coat with a fedora hat low enough to hide his face. Ava shifted uncomfortably. She cleared her throat and the man didn't budge.

Okay, she thought, he's creepy; I'll just walk to the school. Ava walked the opposite direction of where the man was at, going at a pretty fast pace. She got to the end of the block and looked behind her, the man was following her! Ava's heart rate speeded up, and she walked even faster. Ava walked several blocks with the man still following her, finally at the end of 4th and Main she whipped around and yelled, "What do you want from me?" but the man wasn't there. Ava swallowed, was he really gone?

"Ava?" a small voice asked behind her, Ava turned; it was Annie looking worriedly at Ava. "Are you okay, who were you yelling at?"

Ava took in a gulp of air, "there was a man following me."

"A man following you," Annie repeated looking skeptical. Ava nodded.

"He started following me when I left the bus stop. And I don't where he is." Ava whipped around several times to see if she could spot the man, she couldn't.

"He must have left," Ava explained her breathing shallow, "he must have seen you and left."

Annie looked at Ava through furrowed eyebrows. Annie sighed, "Ava, you had a long night, maybe you need to go home and rest. The man was probably a part of your imagination."

"I wasn't imagining things!" Ava exclaimed, staring intensely at Annie.

Annie shook her head, "come on Ava, let's just go home." Annie and Ava turned to go to the next bus stop and Ava's stomach gave a nauseating lurch. The man that had been following her was standing right in front of them.

"Hello." He greeted in a deep scratchy voice.

"Good evening." Annie replied, Ava didn't say anything; the aura the man had been giving off earlier was stronger than ever.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help but overhear, but would you two young ladies like a ride home? My car is just around the corner."

"No thank you," Ava responded coldly, "we'll just catch the late bus home"

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard." The man said a dark grin spreading across his face, "the busses aren't running late tonight, the driver . . . took the night off. My name is Alva, by the way"

Ava stared at Alva, "then we will walk home, but thank you anyway for trying to assist us." Ava grabbed Annie's arm to leave, but Annie tugged it back.

"Annie what are you—" Ava began but Annie silenced her with a look.

"Look, Ava, I've no idea what has gotten into you tonight, but this kind gentleman is just trying to help us, and I have no problem about leaving you here if you are just going to be rude."

Annie's comment stung, but Ava shook it off and followed closely behind the strange man and Annie as he led them to his "car".

They walked for a while, and several times Ava tried to say something to get Annie to leave Alva, but each time Annie ignored her. Finally they reached the edge of a forest, and the man moved a tree limb out of the way and motioned to enter with his hand. "This way," he said slyly. Annie walked in mouth half opened in amazement, and Ava gave the man a dark look.

"I didn't know one was allowed to park cars here." Annie said looking to see where the man's car was at.

"That's because you can't" Said the dark man, walking towards the girls.

"So, you were lying." Annie looked alarmed, but Ava remained cool and composed, her eyes locked onto the man's. A glint of red appeared through the gap of the fedora, and Ava expressed her thoughts.

"You're not human." She whispered to herself. "What are you?" Ava called out, her hand re-clamped around Annie's arm.

The man still smiled.

"What am I you ask?" He chuckled. "Why I am the figment of your darkest nightmare, the ghost that haunts your favorite memory, and your happiest dream."

He then stepped out into the moonlight, letting the moon's glow wash over him. Ava's eyes grew wide, and her mouth dropped involuntarily.

He was frighteningly beautiful. His skin, whiter than the newly fallen snow, glistened in the light. His hair was raven black and cut to his chin. His body was lean and elegant; his face was that of an angel's. But it was his eyes that Ava was most drawn to; they were crimson red, and catlike, a thick rim of eyelashes graced his eyes. Ava would've fallen in love with him in an instant had it not been for the demonic aura that surrounded him.

"Oh my God" Ava mumbled. "We need to go."

Annie, next to her nodded.

The two girls turned towards the exit, but with a sudden gush of wind the man was already in front of them.

"Why leave so soon?" he began walking to them menacingly. "The fun is just beginning!" He let out a low hiss, and Ava got the feeling that he wasn't even breathing.

"What are you?" Ava repeated, looking cautiously at the man.

The man let out an ear screeching laugh, like Ava's query was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

"You ask what I am, but if I tell you, I will have to kill you."

Annie let out a small scream, and she began to run away.

"Finally." The man chuckled and left to chase her.

"NO!" Ava yelled, she tried to run after Annie, but her legs wouldn't move. _What's going on?_ Ava asked herself, _why aren't my legs moving?_

"Annie!" Ava called out hoping if she called her friend's name out it would somehow save her. She screamed, frustrated at her legs. She heard shrieks coming from the deep woods, and what sounded like ripping. Ava began to heave out sobs

"Annie!" Ava repeated, letting the tears fall from her small face. The screams subsided, and Ava knew that Annie would not return. Ava banged her fist on the ground."This is my fault!" she yelled out. "Why did you kill her? It was me who led you to us in the first place!"

Ava looked around, her dark blue eyes red from crying, he wasn't there. Ava let out an aggravated howl. "WHY. WON'T. YOU. LISTEN. TO ME?" She shrieked, voice cracking from pain.

"Oh, don't think that I have forgotten about you." A cool voice said from a dense fog. Ava looked surprised.

It was Alva.

"What did you-" Ava began, but stopped, her stomach turned a thousand somersaults inside her. Blood encircled the edges of the man's mouth. Ava put her to her mouth, frightened by the sight. "You spider!" she yelled, "You monster!" Ava's head begin to spin as her realization of what the man was manifested in her head. "You're a, you're a vampire!" The man smiled, maliciously. "Very good, girl. At least you are not a completely incompetent human. You figured out my secret."

Ava stiffened.

The vampire ran his hands through his raven-black hair. "It's a shame, though." he said dismissively."I have to kill you now, you know."

Ava's heart stopped.

"I wouldn't have minded turning you into a vampire, I'm sure you have been beyond the normal beautiful, but three days of screaming and after that _newborn babysitting_. Too much of a hassle." He shook his head accordingly.

Ava wanted to get up and run away, but her thoughts ran to Annie.

"So, do you want to do this the hard way, or the easy way?"

Ava whimpered. She took a step back, wrong move. A million things happened at once. The man grabbed Ava around her neck, squeezing tightly; Ava began to choke for air. Then, the vampire was thrown off by a force Ava didn't see. She stumbled back leaning against a tree, gasping for breath. Two men, both just as pale as the vampire they now had pinned against a tree, were talking in hushed, hurried voices. One appeared to be in his mid-twenties, he had pale blonde hair, and burning topaz eyes, he had to be about over six feet tall. "Make sure she's okay." He ordered, nodding his head towards Ava.

His partner gave him a _Do I really have to?_ look. The blonde one gave him an annoyed look as if he was saying yes.

The other one sighed, and turned. At that moment Ava thought she had died and gone to heaven. He had beautiful bronze colored hair, he had the same topaz eyes as the blonde one, but upon further notice, Ava had made one mistake, he wasn't a man, he was teenage boy. "Hey, are you alright?" his angelic voice rang, rudely.

Ava's mouth gaped open. "Edward!" the other man snapped.

"Yeah, Edward, is that your name? I'm perfectly fine! My best-friend has just been slaughtered, I'm being hunted by this murderous monster, I was almost choked to death, found out vampires do exist! Best day of my life, til you and your friend there had to come and ruin it!"Ava shouted sarcastically, scowling harshly at Edward, the blonde guy, who was now holding the struggling, snarling vampire by his neck, looked like he was fighting back a smile.

"Well, I'm sorry to come and ruin your party. You know, we were just coming to rescue you and everything. But I guess that was a total waste of my time!" Edward threw his arms in the air theatrically.

Ava and Edward both glared at each other.

"Edward, I need help here!"

Edward glared at Ava and went to help the other man. Ava watched as they held the vampire pinned against the tree.

"Who are you?" The blonde guy demanded, angrily thrusting him to the breaking tree.

"Why should I tell you?" The vampire snarled.

"We may be able to help you!" The man replied.

"Help? HAH! As if I need it! I love who I am, and there's nothing you can do, Dr. Carlisle!"

Carlisle and Edward both stopped using brute force to keep the man against the tree. "How do you know my name?" Carlisle asked. The vampire only grinned wickedly and threw Carlisle and Edward away from him. Edward smacked against a tree, and Carlisle smacked into Edward, it sounded like boulders crunching, Ava cringed.

Ava then felt a very cold hand seize her arm squeezing it too tightly. Something cracked, Ava screamed.

The vampire was snarling and growling. "Decided to bring some friends?"

"No!" Ava screamed, tears streaming down her face from her broken arm. "I don't know who they are!"

"Liar!" The vampire threw Ava down in the dirt. "Do you take me for an idiot?" He screeched.

"No, I don't!" Ava replied.

He growled. Ava looked around her, she noticed a loose thorn bush, and she grabbed it with her good arm. Twenty thorns dug into her skin instantly. Ava didn't notice the pain and threw into the beautiful face of the vampire. She got up and ran away.

The vampire yelled out angrily.

Ava ran. Twigs from trees smacked her face, but she didn't have time to worry about it.

_Keep running_, she told herself, feeling a drop of hot blood curl its way down her face, _just keep running._

She nearly tripped over a giant tree branch, but she still kept running. She leaped across a small creek, passed a giant sycamore.

When she got her foot caught in a tree root the vampire caught up with her.

"Filthy human clumsiness constantly getting in the way of a good chase." He bent to where Ava's foot sat stuck, grasped and then _crack. _Ava shrieked.

"Oops, did that hurt? I must have forgotten you're just a stupid, naive, repulsive little human." He smiled a cruel smile.

"I'm more than you'll ever b-be" Ava threatened, teeth chattering.

"Hmm, you seem cold." The monster said cruelly ignoring Ava's warning. Ava tried to get up, but her foot was still stuck. _Oh, God_. She thought, still trying to wiggle her foot out of the evergreen root, the pain was incredible, Ava could have threw up

"You know what I can't believe?" He asked pacing back and forth. Ava's teeth chattered some more, she didn't reply.

"I can't believe that some measly little human thought that she could run away from a vampire." He laughed, Ava groaned from the pain, her foot was pulsing and her wrist had swollen more two times its size. "Do you know how insane that thought is? Do you?"

Ava wanted to dig a hole in the ground, crawl in it, and never return.

"Well, now I've got you, you've teased me for far too long and now you must pay for it in death." He began to walk closer towards Ava, a ferocious smile on his all-too beautiful face. Tears began to bubble in Ava's eyes.

"Oh, don't you cry now. It will be quick and semi-painless"

He opened his mouth and bent closer to Ava's neck, she felt his ice cold breath, and Ava's eyes grew large. _Here it goes_, she thought, _my turn._ A tear fell from her cheek to her small hand that was gripping the earth.

The vampire was about to bite Ava when a sudden gush of wind pushed him away, and another gush of wind threw Ava down the hill behind her.

Ava screamed, covering her face was nearly impossible as the force acting on her made her roll too fast to think about protecting her face from the twigs and rocks.

Twigs and limbs stabbed Ava's sides as she went down. Animals chattered angrily as she ran over their nests. "Help me stop!" Ava shrieked as if someone could hear her. No one did.

Ava was still rolling fast when she heard the sound of rushing water. _Oh no!_ Ava screamed in her head as a twig cut her face. Ava finally got her hands over her eyes when a large rock stabbed her side, knocking the air out of her.

Ava rolled more awkwardly, gasping for breath. Ava moved a finger away from her eyes long enough to notice the only that would probably be able to stop her was a large cliff looming closer to her. She tried to grab onto nearby shrubbery, but all attempts were at fail.

Ava waited for the fall and got it. She was tossed into the air and was flipping around like an oversized rag-doll, then she rocketed down into the creek below.

She landed with a crunch, splash, and a crack into the shallow creek, her head had cracked against a rock.

Everything began to go very blurry. She could hardly make out the person watching her over the creek.

"She's down here!" The person called. "She fell into the creek, Carlisle!" The man jumped down, landing perfectly on his feet. He ran towards Ava, and she realized that it was the boy who had saved her before.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a velvety voice, it was much nicer than the way he'd talked to her earlier. Ava put two and two together and realized that he, and his friend, were vampires.

Edward began to fade away from her sight, everything around seemed to be growing dimmer.

"No, no stay with me. Come on, no blacking out yet, not until Carlisle gets here." He tried to assure her, lifting her head from the rock.

"Stay with me, Ava. It's going to be alright." He looked at his hand, it was covered in Ava's ruby red blood, and he gulped nervously, and washed it out in the creek. "Carlisle!" He yelled. "Hurry up! She's losing too much blood, she's going to die soon!"

"Are you going to k-kill me?" Ava asked, her eyes began to shut.

"What? No, of course not, what gave you that idea?" Edward demanded. Ava felt her eyes roll. She let out a small groan.

"I'm in so m-much p-pain, I w-would have appreciated it if you d-did." Ava let out a small, sharp gasp, tears racing down her cheek. "E-Edward, I'm s-sorry I y-yelled at you."

"You don't have to apologize." Edward said quickly."It was my fault, I was rude. But you won't have to worry soon, because Carlisle's going to come down here and save you. I promise."

"Pinky. . .promise?" Ava held up her small right pinky finger.

Edward took his pinky finger and wrapped it around Ava's, his finger felt like ice. "Pinky promise." He assured.

"Where is she?" Another voice rang, it was Carlisle's.

"She's right here, Carlisle!" Edward called, smiling apprehensively at Ava.

"Okay, Edward, thank you. I can take it from here. Alva took off, but a few humans heard the commotion and showed up, please go keep them at bay."

Edward and Carlisle switched places.

"Y-you're a v-vampire, too? Like E-Edward?" Ava asked, taking in short breaths.

Carlisle looked at Ava, but he didn't appear surprised. "Yes, I am. But you really shouldn't talk, it's exhausting you. Could you look me in the eyes, please?" He held Ava's chin gently. He stared intently at her for a second, as if he was looking for something. Carlisle then smiled. "You have very pretty eyes." He complimented.

Carlisle went blurry and Ava felt herself fall back. "Oops, none of that." He said. Ava grimaced; she was beginning to have problems breathing. Carlisle lifted Ava out of the cold creek and laid her on a patch of grass, he looked concerned.

"I'm not going to lie to you; you don't have but two minutes longer to live." Pain surged through Ava's body. She didn't doubt him."You've lost too much blood, and your breathing is much too shallow." Carlisle was so blurry, Ava couldn't see him. "You do have another option rather than dying." Carlisle took a deep sigh in. "You know what I am. I could bite you, and you'd be turned into a vampire, it's painful though, it worse than the pain you feel right now. But you'll live on forever."

Ava's breathing patterns began to skip. "D-do i-it." Ava muttered.

Carlisle nodded, and took Ava's left wrist, and stared at it sadly. He opened his mouth to reveal venom covered teeth, and bit into Ava's tiny wrist.


	2. Transformation

Transformation

There was so much pain.

Indescribable, sort of like being shoved into an inflamed furnace, only hotter. The feeling was worse than being pushed down an active volcano. And I felt every bit of it. I thrashed, screamed, and tried to get rid of the pain. I'm certain dying wasn't this painful. Dying seemed peaceful, like staying forever in a dream. Whatever was going on with me, I'm sure it's worse than death.

Voices, voices, voices, I heard them. But, where were they? Did they not want to help me? But, why? Did I do something wrong?

"How long is she going to be like this?" A girl with an annoyed voice asked, "I'm starting to get a headache!"

"Only a couple more days," A familiar voiced replied; Carlisle's voice, "Only a couple more days, and she'll be fine." Except, he didn't sound like was trying to reassure just the girl.

"I don't care about her being fine," the girl's voice said indifferently, "I care about the noise disappearing!"

Then voices went away. They didn't come back. I was alone. But, I'm used to it, I've always been alone.

From the time my parents were murdered, to the time Carlisle bit me, I was alone. I sort of got used to it. I've never had any friends, and my parents were only consumed in themselves. So I learned how to befriend the loneliness. Keep to myself. People never lasted long, they got what they wanted out of you, and when you were an empty shell, they abandoned you. I was fine with being alone, it betrayed you.

I suffered for what felt an eternity, while the pain ate away at my being, my life, my heart, and my soul. I felt it alright, like a snake suffocating its prey. Like a lion taking that first, fresh bite into the neck of its victim. I couldn't run away from it. By the second day I had begun to accept the pain, I started to not feel its powerful strike. I didn't like it, but there was no way I would be able to escape it, so I settled, stopped my senseless screaming, and moved on. I could only hope that it would disappear before I lost my mind, I hadn't lost that yet.

I could only hope.

The third day was much worse. I tried to keep my mouth shut. I knew that as soon as opened my mouth I would really feel the pain. But I lost. My shrill scream filled the air around me.

"KILL ME!" I shrieked.

Nothing happened. The pain had begun to attack my heart.I wasn't sure how it could handle it. The pain centered itself around my heart, and then, nothing. I let out a sharp breath, as the pain retreated in my palm, and flew open my eyes.

No one was there.

Had I imagined the voices?

Great, I thought, now I'm going crazy.

Maybe all of what happened in the last three and a half days didn't happen, and it was all a dream sequence brought on by a nasty bump to the head. I mean real living, or rather, existing vampires? Come on! Vampires didn't exist. Carlisle, Edward, and the evil vampire were just figments of dementia brought about by a concussion. Yeah, that made sense. I was never bitten, I am not immortal, and tomorrow I will go back to ballet practice, back to the loneliness, and make a conscious effort not fall ever again.

But, then again, was my eyesight always this excellent?

I could see everything, the subtle cracks in the wall, and the bits of dust floating gracefully in the air. Then, I looked at my hands. They were so pale. They were never this pale before.

I need a mirror, I thought hurriedly. I found one sitting limply against the wall, looked in it. And screamed.


	3. Five Months Later 1940

It's hard for me to forget the circumstances of which I was bit. Each part of my memory stabs with a pain worse than the pain I felt when I was turned. I felt my fists tense up when I remembered the murderer, even though Carlisle sat me down after I was turned to explain to me that vampires good, or bad will hunt and kill whatever human they wanted to clench their thirst. That didn't soothe my anger.

"I don't care! It still isn't fair! She had done nothing wrong!" I stood up, but fell down to couch from my white-hot anger. "It wasn't her fault, I was the one who led him to her, I was the stupid and reckless one!" I buried my head in my hands.

"Ava, it wasn't your fault that Annie was killed, please don't blame yourself." Esme put her arm around me, trying to calm me down.

"I. . .should be the one who's dead, not Annie." I tried to let a sob, with no success, when I realized, I couldn't cry. "Carlisle, why can't I cry?"

I was brought back out of my reverie by Edward who struck a heavy piano note, letting me know, that he was reading my thoughts.

I listened to Edward play the piano as I closed my book that I was previously reading. It was another weekend where Edward and I had to fend for ourselves, Carlisle and Esme went to Esme's Island, Emmett and Rosalie went on a romantic hunting weekend in the Amazon, how a hunting trip could be romantic is beyond me, but then again, it's Em and Rose so, I'm sure they'd found a way. And since Edward isn't as much of a party animal as, say, Emmett, the house was unnaturally quiet, and still.

I sighed and stood up from the couch still keeping an ear on Edward playing a lazy version of Mozart.

_You lack inspiration_; I thought and rolled my eyes.

"I do not!" Edward called in reply, and I laughed out loud. It hasn't taken me much to get used to Edward's ability to read minds, in fact it was our most useful way of communication, except his replies have to be spoken, considering I lack the ability to read minds. Edward was the only vampire in our family with special abilities, everyone has other qualities, but they aren't neat or anything. Carlisle, our leader, had a heightened sense of self-control, proof? He's the only vampire I know that can work in human hospital. Esme, his wife, and mine, Edward's, Rosalie, and Emmett's adoptive mother, had a motherly instinct, and treated everyone with a warm, open-hearted spirit. Emmett had incredible strength, and Rosalie was probably the world's most beautiful vampire. And I, I was Ava, the short and sarcastic newborn, who didn't have any qualities, special or not, to talk about.

I straightened my slightly wrinkly white sun dress and walked over to the glass door that led to our woodsy backyard, and stared at my reflection. I, like any other vampire, was unnaturally beautiful. I had skin as pale as the snow falling on the ground outside, and a heart shaped face. My eyes were big, and round, and they were the color of crimson blood. My lips were red, and my nose was small and slightly turned up. I had long, curly auburn hair that snaked all the way down to my waist. I was small, and petite, barely reaching my five foot stance, and I hardly weighed one hundred pounds.

I sighed at myself, and placed my slim fingers to the cool glass. Its icy touch met mine, and the window froze even more. I smiled at my little wonder and proceeded to open the door. If I were a human, even opening the back door to my winter ice Kingdom would have been a major mistake. It was minus thirty degrees, the wind was howling, and snow was falling like an opened bag of flour.

I placed one of my pale feet into the snow, and felt it crunch beneath my weight. I placed the other foot confidently into the snow, and proceeded to shut the door, and walk further out. I could see every snow flake falling to the ground; I could see each unique design as they fell gracefully.

_I wish I were a tiny snowflake_, I thought to myself forgetting about my older mind reading brother.

"No, you don't," A voice claimed behind me.

I turned unsurprised to see Edward looking to me incredulously,

"Why would you want to be a snowflake?" Edward pressed, his brow furrowed at the sight of my shoeless feet.

"Snowflakes are perfect, beautiful, and everyone loves them." I explained twirling in the snow like some tiny ballerina.

"Yeah, until they melt and become slush." Edward scoffed. "Then nobody thinks you're beautiful, they think you're muddy." Edward grinned at his humor.

I rolled my eyes, "you're just jealous because I thought of the comparison before you did."

Edward laughed, "Yes, Ava, that's exactly it. I'm jealous of someone as short as you."

"I bet my short self could beat you to the northern Syracuse forest and land a mountain lion before you do," I challenged readying for the race that I knew Edward would not be able to refuse.

Edward cracked a smile and said a quick "You're on" and we took off. Passed the wooded backyard and into the western forest both running so fast our feet barely touched the cold ground beneath us. The wind blew through my hair and plastered my bangs to my forehead. Had I been a human running this fast would have been impossible and everything around me would have been a blurry mess, but instead I could see everything so clearly, and sharp. Edward was a few feet behind me, but I could tell that he was holding back.

_Is that the best you can do?_ I thought, _looks like I'm going to have bragging rights over you._ I sent him a triumphant look, trying to instigate him to give me better competition. Finally he sped up and we were neck and neck. Trees and brush whipping past us, animals scurrying back into their homes for protection. But Edward and I were hunting for more satisfying prey, larger prey. A small rabbit or squirrel would never suffice.

We reached the northern forest at a tie, and now the real competition began, who could nab the biggest mountain lion first. I let my sense of smell take completely over and scanned the area. At first nothing but the scents of deer loomed in the air, a family of raccoons watched me apprehensively a few yards away. I walked in a cautious, dream-like state, mind set on my target, a mountain lion two-hundred feet away, tearing at the remnants of a stag. It was fairly large, I sniffed the air again, and he was a male. Which was good, I tried to avoid killing female mountain lions because it may leave behind orphaned cubs.

I loomed closer and prepared myself for a pounce as he began to play with the carcass. I ran and then leaped the shocked look of the mountain lion as I attacked him framed in my mind. He fought for only a second as I got my mouth around his large neck, the venom paralyzed him, and I began to drink his warm blood. I sat cross legged on the damp forest floor as Edward came back with his mountain lion, also a male, draped around his shoulders. He took one look at mine, and sighed.

"You win," he said simply tossing his to ground to compare sizes.

I shrugged.

I drained the rest of the blood out of the lion and tossed his carcass aside. Edward sat across from me watching.

"I needed that," I said straightening my wrinkled dress, "my eyes were hurting."

"Just give them seven more months and then they will change to topaz, and they won't hurt as much when you're thirsty." Edward stated

"Yeah, I know." I let out a soft sigh, "when do you think they'll be back?" I asked running through the faces of my absent family members in my head.

"Soon enough," Edward said, "just give this weather time to stop."

"I wish we could go on vacations like they do," I said whimsically.

"Ava, you know we can't, I have to go to school, and you're too young to leave." Edward stated.

"Well, at least you get to leave the house, I'm stuck there all hours, bored with nothing to do." I crossed my arms to my chest.

"You could always pick up a new talent," Edward teased.

"On top of the other fifteen talents that I've taught myself? No thanks, I think I'm done." I scowled at the ground.

"You can always play around and find if you have a special ability?" Edward suggested, dangerously, he knew special abilities were a touchy subject with me.

"Hmph" I grumbled and got up from the snowy ground, "I think I'll go home now." I took off to the direction of home.


End file.
